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2 flights to repatriate German tourists in Cambodia that left from Phnom Penh yesterday have been described as “half empty” – with stranded UK tourists expressing anger that they were not informed of the flights – and the chance to get back home – by the UK Embassy. It has been reported that the German flight had a capacity of 350 people, but many seats – including the entire Premium Economy section – were empty.

Here’s a video from a passenger on the second German repatriation flight that flew yesterday… It was open to other nationalities but we were not informed of it’s existence. I’ve been told this flight could take about 350 pax but only half the seats were filled. There was reportedly nobody in premium economy.

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Members of the Facebook group “Stranded in Cambodia” UK have already organised one private charter flight from Phnom Penh to the UK and have expressed concern over a seeming lack of action from the UK Government and Embassy, in the face of other western countries such as France and Germany, who have organised multiple flights from Cambodia to repatriate their own citizens.

The prime minister’s official spokesperson had originally claimed hours before the UK had ignored the EU joint procurement schemes, which allows access to the life-saving equipment more quickly and cheaply, “because we are no longer members of the EU.”

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"The prime minister’s official spokesperson had originally claimed hours before the UK had ignored the EU joint procurement schemes, which allows access to the life-saving equipment more quickly and cheaply,“because we are no longer members of the EU.”

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This may well be a deliberate decision by the current UK government. They could also have been part of a EU wide purchasing group aimed at improving bargaining power in purchasing repirators world-wide, but the UK did not join and announced "it will be relying on its own efforts".

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When I see these news stories, with photos and videos of angry littles faces, so furious that their government is not doing enough to rescue them, I am just astonished at the brass neck of these people.

March is now ending. We have known since January that this problem was serious, at least serious enough to keep a close eye on. We then spent February watching country after country instituting travel restrictions, and airlines starting to cut routes.

It was clear which way thing were going by the end of February. The penny dropped for me in the wee hours of the morning on the 21st of February. I had arrived in Manila, just a couple of days before and was really looking forward to the spending the next few months in the Philippines. I suddenly understood that we had reached a point at which things were only to get more difficult, expensive, and dangerous for any Westerner caught in Asia. I considered returning to Thailand but saw that, while it might initially be safer, the sudden collapse of their tourist industry was going to cause massive ripples. What was going to happen was unprecedented, there was no way to predict how matters might develop. I could also get badly trapped between visa idiocy and no travel options.

Sitting there in my hotel room, at 3 or 4 in the morning, it was very clear that, for the first time in over two decades, I would have to make an unplanned return to the relative safety of Ireland. I was gutted to leave, and realized I might not be able to return for a very long time, but knew it was the only choice. I paid Emirates $670 for a one way ticket to Dublin, flying out that night. Then I slept for eight hours, did some shopping, had a nice meal, packed my stuff, checked out at 9PM, and caught a taxi to the airport.

20 hours later I was in Dublin Airport. I collected my suitcase and headed towards the exit. A uniformed lady stopped me. Ah, I thought, here at last is some sort of check to make sure infected travelers aren't wandering into the country. Don't worry, I said. I'm not coming from China, just the Philippines. She looked confused. Oh, she said, that. No, I just want to check if you're bringing cigarettes into the country.

During the layover in Dubai, I got chatting with some English tourists heading in the other direction to enjoy a few months in S.E. Asia. They told me it was a last minute decision, made mainly because they received a terrific deal on a resort hotel and the flights had been unusually cheap too. They planned to travel around for at least a couple of months. I was able to confirm that, yes, they would definitely be able to find hotels at unusually good prices, especially in Vietnam where I had spent a month immediately before Manila. I did ask if they were aware of the Corona virus. They were aware of it but were confident it wouldn't be a problem and, they were so excited, I did not have the heart to reveal my own conclusion.

That was February 22nd. I hope they had a few good weeks but, then, by St. Patrick's Day, mid-March, the good sense to get their posteriors onto a plane home. I reckon they almost certainly did. These idiots in the article, trapped in Phnom Penh by their own stupidity, and all the other idiots trapped in places they should have left weeks ago, represent only the most irresponsible, delusional of travelers. As I see them tut, and complain bitterly about how "that idiot Boris" isn't helping them, and how all this "just isn't good enough", I find myself thinking "Som nom na".